Purple Flower Shirt Refashion

It was the purple flowers that caught my eye on this fabric. Originally sewn into pajamas, this fabric was looking for a bit of an update to take it from lonely item on the sale rack to new item in my wardrobe. It was priced at 70 cents and there was a lot of fabric to play around with, so the pajamas came home.

Front view

From the back

The tag said made in India and there was no size label, but it was too big on me so I'm guessing XL or XXL. I started by taking in the sides and sleeves to get a better fit and plan A was to make a tunic or dress. A t-shirt that fit me well helped me see how much to take in on each side. I basted the sides and then tried the pajamas on my dress form.

There was quite a bit to take in on the sides

After the sides were basted in, I tried playing with the length. If it went below my knees, it still looked like pajamas. If I shortened it a bit to wear with tights or jeans, it still felt like too much fabric. I settled on plan B and made it about the same length as a t-shirt.

Inside out before sides are finished

The side seams on this shirt are finished with my new-to-me serger. This is the third serger I have bought and it's the first one that has worked. It's a Brother 1034D and it seems to have finished the seams pretty well. I look forward to learning more about how to use the serger, but this was a good first project.

Serged seams, is the thread sticking out too far from the edge of the fabric?

Oops, I sewed a pucker into the side.  That will have to come out

Pucker eliminated

With the side seams done, I pinned the hem and sleeve lengths and used my Bernina 830 to sew those in. The fit well now, but I thought it still needed some embellishment on the front. The shirt definitely has a vintage look, so I searched my odds and ends box for buttons, snaps, etc. that would liven things up. I found some embroidered flowers that came from an estate sale a couple summers ago. I stitched three of these on to the front panel by hand. Lastly, I added some purple centers to the flowers to coordinate with the purple flowers in the fabric.

Flowers stitched on

Adding purple centers

The weather around here isn't going to call for a short sleeve shirt any time soon, but I'll have this shirt ready in my closet when the time comes. Here it is finished on the dress form.

I think the white flowers were a great addition

Loose fitting, but not several sizes too big

Kept the pleats in the back

Freeing Up A Bernina 830 Presser Foot Bar

From the very beginning, when I got this Bernina 830 thirdhand, it was clear that the original owner had taken pride in her machine and had done regular maintenance on the machine. The second owner may not have ever even used the machine and it had sat in storage for several years. After a good cleaning and oiling, the machine sewed a great straight, reverse, and zig-zag stitch. My first indication that something was wrong was when I tried changing the foot to try out an embroidery stitch.  I lifted the foot lever to the top position and switched out the feet. When I went to release the foot lever the lever went down easily, but the presser foot bar did not move.  It was stuck in the raised position.  I cleaned again, lubricated with Tri-Flow, and now it moved only slightly and would not return all the way to the lowest position.  I tried applying heat with a hairdryer and that did loosen things up, but it was temporary and when the machine cooled down again it went right back to not releasing.  After triple-checking my work, I was a bit puzzled and tried to understand what could possibly be sticking.  I ended up taking the screw out from the top of the presser foot bar.

Presser foot bar screw

There is a large spring under this screw and it popped out before I was ready. I had to listen for the small screw to land after flying through the air. Next time, I'll keep my fingers over the screw as I'm loosening it.

Large spring with small screw on the end

 Looking down into the bar, I could see some discoloration that was probably dried lubricant. Using q-tips and alcohol, I cleaned as far down into the hole as I could reach.

Definitely removing something that was causing the bar to stick

Foot lever in the back always moved with ease

As I worked, I would keep trying to move the foot lever up and down. It moved smoothly from the start, but eventually the bar itself was also moving up and down freely. I know that the spring applies pressure to push the foot down but, I keep cleaning until the bar moved without any added pressure.

Looking down into the presser foot bar after it was cleaned

Here's a short clip that shows the movement inside the cleaned presser foot bar when the lever is adjusted.

Eventually, when I raised and lowered the foot lever, the presser foot bar moved in unison. I put the spring and screw back in and put the top back down. Good news, unlike the heat application that was a temporary fix, cleaning the presser foot bar has proved to provide long term results. Now we're ready to sew.

Here She Comes, Ms. Universal

In the spotlight

When she came home from a garage sale in October, Ms. Universal was in need of some work before she would be ready to compete in any pageant competitions. Since then, she has had her chrome polished, paint shined, motor cleaned, belt changed, insides cleaned and lubricated, wiring checked, and foot controller cleaned.  Now she is ready to take her place on stage with all the other contestants.

Her facial treatments didn't eliminate all the age spots, but as a senior competitor in the pageant she looks fantastic for her age. 

She has a slim and angular body with a distinctive stitch-length selector surrounding the reverse lever.  The feed dog release knob is on the right, below the made in Japan badge.  

The upper thread tension wheel is on the back of the machine

The teal motor matches Ms. Universal's outfit

You can see a bit of Ms. Universal's built-in sewing light peeking out below her nameplate on the back.  There is also a well-polished access panel above the motor and an adjustable-height spool pin located on the top of the machine.

Hand wheel and bobbin-winder all shined up

For the talent portion of the competition, Ms. Universal executes flawless stitches in a variety of lengths moving both forwards and backwards.  She is careful not to miss a stitch and keeps consistent tension at all times.

Flipped back on her hinges

A quick glance at Ms. Universal's undercarriage reveals inner workings that are clean, strong, and efficient.  

Attachments and foot controller

Ms. Universal comes with her own entourage.  A color-coordinated foot controller and accessory box with extra feet, attachments, and unused bobbins are included.

Ms. Universal insists on using her own private travel service.  And while she is not a dainty lady with a featherweight physique, Ms. Universal is often conveyed about town in her own personalized teal case.  She travels in style.

I have had fun getting to know Ms. Universal.  The judges are still counting the final votes, but I really do think she has a chance at the crown.  After all, in the interview when asked what she thinks our society needs Ms. Universal answered "more people who enjoy sewing." Yes, that and world peace.  

Lightning Bolt Baby Quilt

My sister's friend, Mary U., made this gorgeous baby quilt for my sister's second baby due in February.  I love the bright yellow and gold colors on the the gray and blue background.  There is no doubt that this quilt will be treasured by my sister and my future niece.  One thing that worried my sister though, was the amount of quilting holding the layers together.  She thought it might come apart or bunch up in some areas after multiple rounds through the washing machine.  My sister asked if I could add a bit more quilting to ensure that neither of those things occurred.  I was happy for a relatively quick project and started thinking about which machine I wanted use.

The bright colors in this quilt are fantastic

The lightening bolts are outlined in quilting

The blue border has widely spaced triangles

A view of the back

For quilting ideas I consulted mom.  She came up with some good suggestions.  First, I filled in the background between the lightening bolts with free form squiggly lines.  I started this project on my Bernina 730 Record and for quite a while progress was steady.  Eventually, the motor started to run more and more slowly and after I finished the squiggly lines it stopped altogether.  I took apart the motor and cleaned it, but when I put it back in the machine I noticed worn belts that needed to be replaced.  I too a break to order new upper and lower belts online and then moved on to keep quilting with my Necchi Nora. This was the first project I had done on this machine and it worked great.

Squiggly lines in place

Now the lightening bolts pop even more

On to phase two of quilting

Next, I worked on the blue background.  Each triangle got divided into thirds and I used the Necchi for this.

Triangles through polka dots

The Nora excelled at her first quilting project

Stewie helped ensure that quilting was evenly spaced

The final round of quilting was on the lightening bolts themselves.  Each section of the bolt got divided into thirds similar to the triangles on the border.  Every six inches or so I had to make a ninety degree turn, but as long as my needle was in the fabric when I lifted the pressure foot I was able to start sewing in the new direction without any problems.  I was worried about having enough space under the sewing machine arm for the quilt, but I soon found that there was plenty of room for a baby quilt.

Quilting lightening bolts and view of the fantastic binding in polka dots

Nora's color compliments this quilt

Finished quilt before washing

The quilt got washed in cold water to remove the chalk quilting lines and it came out of the machine looking fantastic.  It held together well and it's ready to snuggle with baby. This was a fun project because there were some many great fabrics in the quilt top and Mary chose such a pattern I have never seen before. Every time I looked at the quilt I noticed different fabrics, one even had whimsical orange octopuses. I was glad to see that Mary signed the back of her finished quilt. Artists should get credit for their design and skill in construction. Now, the finished quilt has made the trip back to MN and is waiting with the rest of us to meet my new niece.

Lovely!

How-To: Install New Belts on the Bernina 730 Record

Today I replaced the upper and lower drive belts on a Bernina 730 Record.  I took some pictures along the way so you could see the process.
Start by unplugging the power supply. Take off the side panel under the hand wheel.  There are two screws, one on each side of the panel.

Screws for end panel

The panel then slides out an down to get from under the hand wheel.
Take the screw out of the hand wheel and remove the end cap and the washer.
Turn the machine on its side and remove the two screws holding the motor cover panel.  The panel with then slide/lift off, just be careful to navigate around the motor switch panel.

Screws for motor cover panel located underneath the machine

Now you should have a clear view of the belts and access to the end of the machine and the motor pulley.

End panel and motor cover panel removed

The screw to release the tension on the belt wheels is below the bottom wheel and you will need an allen wrench to loosen it up.  You don't need to take the screw out, just back it out a quarter turn or so until pulley behind the wheel is loose.  This will give the wheel some play horizontally and vertically.

Loosen screw below the wheel, do not take screw out

Remove the lower belt from the motor and wheel first and then slide the wheel up slightly to remove the upper belt.

Lower belt comes off first

The upper belt is nestled behind the lower wheel and stretches up over the hand wheel. Slide the hand wheel off and the belt should come with it.

Both belts and the hand wheel have been removed

Now start putting the new belts back into the machine.  Start with the upper belt and remember it tucks in behind the lower wheel.  You can slide belt over the hand wheel and put it back on the shaft.

Upper belt goes behind wheel and up over hand wheel

Hand wheel back in place and upper belt tucked in behind it

The bottom belt goes over the wheel and connects to the motor pulley.

New lower belt in place

You will need to adjust wheel position so that the belts are not too tight and putting strain on the motor or too loose and not engaging the wheel or hand wheel.  When you think you have the correct tension, tighten the screw back up with the allen wrench.  At this point you can plug in the power supply and try running the machine with the foot controller.  Make sure the belts turn smoothly and make adjustments if necessary.  Remember, the adjustment screw only needs a small turn to loosen or tighten.  Here is a quick video of the machine running with new belts.

Once you are confident with the placement of the belts, you can unplug the power supply and reassemble the machine.  Put the washer back on the hand wheel with the little raised tabs pointing out away from the machine.

Tabs stick out away from machine

Put the cap back on the hand wheel and replace the screw.

Hand wheel reassembled

Slide the motor cover panel back into place and put the screws back into the bottom of the machine. Reposition the side panel and tighten screws.You are now ready to plug the power supply back in and begin sewing.

This is my first how-to segment and I welcome any feedback you have that would help improve future segments. Thank you.